Making the transition from nappies to potty is difficult, to say the least. Not only is it stressful for us but it's hard for our little ones too. When I found out I was pregnant, I decided that I would try to potty train my daughter before the baby arrived. That way, I only had to deal with one load of nappies. We could see that she was showing the signs as we headed into lockdown earlier this year. She was 2 and a half; I had introduced the potty just after she turned 2 but she was treating it as a handy climbing tool. Now lockdown was an excellent way to start potty training. We were stuck indoors with plenty of opportunities to let my daughter try just pants. The warm weather was so handy too and I would recommend to other parents to wait until spring or summer to potty train. There's nothing worse than having to constantly change them with lots of layers. Initially, in March, she struggled with potty training. We found she held it in for hours on end so we did stop for a week or two. Then one evening just before bed she sat on the potty and did a wee. After that, she finally grasped weeing in the potty and only had a couple of accidents. Pooing was a bit harder; she tended to hold this and do this at night instead of using the potty during the day. But then we did have progress with this over the next few weeks and she finally did start pooing every time on the toilet seat. She actually preferred this to the potty in the end, so it's always worth trying this out. Here are 5 things I learnt while training my daughter.
They will only start when they are ready
There are some kids out there who will potty train when they are under 2 while there are some who are nearly 4 before they grasp it. There's no point in pressuring your little one before they are ready. For my little one, she was ready when she was 2 and a half; there's no way that we could have trained her earlier. Therefore, I think it's so important to remember they are all so different.
Patience and time
It's irritating when they wee on the floor or even worse, poo on the floor. I think we used a ton of kitchen roll and Dettol during those weeks. But patience is key, otherwise, you end up getting stressed and moreover, your little one will do too. And remember it takes time to train your little one. There's so much of this 'I did it in 3 days' online from other mums which ends up just making you feel worried that it's taking so long. Just give them time; they will get there in the end.
Watch out for the signs
Signs were key for us to know our little one was ready to be potty trained. From holding the area to telling us she was wet, it helped us to know she was ready. I think it's much harder point training your child if they aren't showing signs they are ready.
Do use books and TV
Potty training books and TV shows/videos are a great way to show your little one how to go potty. My little one loved Princess Potty and that was on the very first time she had a wee. She copied the video and even went to fetch toilet paper like the cartoon character on TV. Books were also great to help her to understand.
Make it as fun as you can
I found that making it fun made the whole process much easier. I bought a sticker chart (Bing theme of course) and every time she weed or pooed, she got a sticker. This definitely encouraged her; she was excited to put the stickers on the chart. I think this really helped us to turn a corner.
